WALSALL’S Manny Monthe provided a stoppage-time knock-out blow as the Saddlers beat Swindon Town 2-1 at the County Ground on Boxing Day.

Ellis Iandolo scored just his fourth goal in 164 appearances midway through the first half to put Town ahead, but Tom Knowles levelled for Walsall on the stroke of half-time.

With Swindon desperately trying to find a winner late on, the Saddlers stole all three points in added time as the heavyweight defender poked home.

Town dropped to fifth as a result of their third defeat in the past five games.

Swindon boss Scott Lindsey opted for an unchanged starting XI to the one which beat Barrow 1-0 in the final game before Christmas. Ben Gladwin and Saidou Khan were back on a strong-looking bench after lengthy injury lay-offs.

Walsall also named an unchanged team, although they last played in early December, so the Saddlers were expected to be nice and fresh.

While they may have been fresh, Mike Flynn’s men were also visibly rusty. As a result, Town made the brighter start but were unable to test Owen Evans in the Saddlers goal early on.

The first shot of the afternoon didn’t arrive for either team until the 18th minute. A deep free-kick was missed by Louis Reed and Marcel Lavinier, and Danny Johnson collected the rebound but could only poke against the roof of the Alan McLoughlin Town End with his left.

The Boxing-Day contest featured plenty of endeavour but very little in the way of quality until Swindon opened the scoring in the 33rd minute.

A lightning counter-attack saw Jonny Williams whip a forward ball out to Ronan Darcy down the right. He crossed into the middle behind Jacob Wakeling, who had made the near-post run, and Iandolo slammed straight at Evans with his first attempt. But when the ball came back to him, Iandolo stretched his left leg out to divert the ball into the corner at a snail's pace for his first goal since January.

The energy levels of both teams picked up after the opening goal, and the Walsall equaliser arrived on the stroke of half-time courtesy of their best player. Knowles took a short corner on the right and received it back before making his way towards the edge of the box.

He clipped a cross towards the far post left footed which Remeao Hutton flicked at it with his head, and the ball squeezed its way into the side-netting at the far post.

Both sides traded half-chances at the start of the second period, but neither goalkeeper was tested before Rushian Hepburn-Murphy and Ben Gladwin were introduced shortly before the hour mark in place of Iandolo and Wakeling.

The former’s arrival gave Town an unpredictability and a spark up front, and Hepburn-Murphy saw a couple of shots blocked as cries for handball went unrewarded.

Fellow substitute Gladwin tried to find him with a through ball moments later, but the pass skipped through to Evans in the Saddlers’ goal.

With around 12 minutes to play, Walsall passed up a glorious opportunity to snatch all three points. The Saddlers cut through Town on the counter-attack, and Johnson was presented with a brilliant shooting opportunity on his left inside the box. He placed the shot straight at Brynn though when he should have put his laces through the ball, and the Town stopper beat it away.

Inside the final 10 minutes, Walsall substitute Conor Wilkinson provided a close shave for the visitors. He shifted the ball onto his left and curled an out-swinging effort narrowly wide of Brynn’s left-hand post.

Swindon were cut open though inside six minutes of added time. Frazer Blake-Tracy was off the pitch after receiving treatment as a right-wing corner came in, and Monthe was quickest to react for the Saddlers. He poked in past Brynn from close range, and the three points headed back up the M5.

STFC starting XI: Brynn, Hutton, Iandolo, Reed, Williams, Darcy, Blake-Tracy, MacDonald, Lavinier, Wakeling, Shade.

STFC substitutes: Copland, Gladwin, Adeloye, Hepburn-Murphy, Khan, Minturn, Roberts.

WFC starting XI: Evans, White, Gordon, Daniels (c), Monthe, Kinsella, Knowles, Earing, Hutchinson, Bennett, Johnson.

WFC substitutes: Wilkinson, Williams, Comley, James-Taylor, Maddox, McEntee, Allen.

Referee: James Oldham

Attendance: 10,240 (465)